My third day in Japan was a relaxing retreat to Kurokawa, a small town known for its onsen, Japanese hot springs. We took a bus in the morning from Aso to Kurokawa and spent the day walking around the quiet town surrounded by forests and relaxing in the hot water of the onsens. There are waterfalls and rivers running throughout the town and lots of little shops and restaurants dotted throughout. It’s a really wonderful place and would be a fantastic spot to spend the night, if the prices weren’t over $100 per person! Using each onsen for the day was only $5 per person.
The beautiful setting of Kurokawa town.
Our first onsen was called Kurokawasou. While some onsen are mixed gender, we only used separate gender ones. Most onsen have indoor and outdoor sections. Kurokawasou’s outdoor section had a steaming hot waterfall that fed the bath. Trees surround the bath, making you feel like you are out in the forest, bathing in a warm pond. Our second onsen was one of Kurokawa’s most famous, called Yamamizuki. This onsen is actually located out in the middle of the forest. The outdoor bath is positioned right above a waterfall in a real forest river. The overall atmosphere of both onsen was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. While Korea’s jjimjilbangs have excellent baths, they are usually inside and never located in the middle of a forest. They have more of a traditional spa feel, whereas the onsen we went to make you feel like you are out in the middle of nature.
Outside Kurokawasou onsen.
Kurokawasou’s waiting room.
Neat moss-covered roof.
Kurokawasou onsen. Photo from alljapantours.com.
Photo from flickriver.com.
Outside Yamamizuki onsen.
Yamamizuki onsen. Photo from flickriver.com.
Photo from flickr.com, John Cramer Photography.
Yamamizuki at night. Photo from tripadvisor.co.uk.
Onsen fashion!
Lunch time!
Voilà!
After visiting two onsen and having a great lunch, we took a bus back to Kumamoto, where we would spend the night at another fantastic hostel. The hostel’s decoration and layout were great—they even had a common room with manga, movies, and a big HD TV screen! I am happy that I was able to actually sleep every night while I was in Japan, despite some very loud snorers at the hostels!
Waiting for the bus to Kumamoto.
The comfy dorm room at our hostel in Kumamoto.
The great common room, complete with samurai armor, manga, movies, computers, and a giant TV screen!
In the hostel stairwell.
The only bad meal we had in Japan. We ordered “omerice” (an omelette with fried rice inside), expecting the delicious version I love in Korea. Instead, we each got a gigantic omelette that could have fed three people drenched in heaping ladles of a really bad brown sauce. I ate as much as I could in order to not seem rude but at the end I could barely stand up and walk out!
The next day it was back to Fukuoka. We had a fantastic lunch of sushi—something I had been eagerly waiting for the whole trip. In the early afternoon we boarded the ferry to return to Busan. The weather was rainy this time and the water got a bit choppy, delaying us by about an hour. I was so glad for the seasickness medicine that one of my friends had brought!
Beginning lunch with green tea. So good!
Yummy egg custard-like thing.
Miso soup.
Sushi platter that a friend got.
Half of my delicious sushi tray. The soft orange stuff on the right is sea urchin. It was excellent!
No more sushi. Boo hoo!
That brings this Japan trip report to a close. What a wonderful little vacation it was! I definitely hope to return one day soon.
Rain on the return to Busan.
Un Voyage Extraordinaire 